1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air bag mounting device and more particularly, to an improved device for mounting an air bag to a rear face of a headrest of a vehicle so as to become a composite surface of an air bag door and a back surface cover of the headrest, so that the air bag does not create any wasteful space in a rear passenger seat area of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inflatable air bag structures are being commonly used in passenger vehicles to promote passenger safety in the event of an accident. Such air bag structures include inflation means which, when activated, rapidly form a gas which causes high speed inflation of air bags in front of passengers to absorb impact shock to thereby minimize injury. Sensor systems are provided to cause activation of the air bag structure immediately upon vehicle impact.
Generally, air bags are folded and mounted in relatively small canister-like housings which are positioned behind the vehicle instrument panel. The housing is slidably mounted in a chute structure which, in turn, is mounted in an opening in the instrument panel in front of the area occupied by the passenger in the front seat of the vehicle. As the air bag is deployed, it passes into the chute and is guided by the chute into the proper area within the vehicle to function in the desired shock absorbing fashion.
Recently, several types of air bag devices mounted on a rear side of a front seat of a vehicle have been introduced. However, such air bag mounting devices always create some wasteful spaces in a rear seat area so that it is inconvenient for passengers seated in the rear seat. Further, the above air bag devices are complicated in structure so that such devices are out of order frequently and do not perform well when operating.